China’s two-front fight to quash the virus and revive its economy
GDP held up in the first quarter, but retail sales slid in March
![In need of a push](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/2022/04/articles/main/20220423_fnp001.jpg)
THE FORTUNES of the world’s second-biggest economy hinge on two kinds of hesitancy. The first is over vaccines. China’s elderly are surprisingly reluctant to get inoculated against covid-19. That has saddled the country with a vulnerable population that could die in large numbers if the government abandons its controversial “zero-covid” policy. But this uncompromising stance, which tries to stamp out any outbreak of the virus, obliges China to impose ruinous lockdowns on some of its most productive cities, including Shanghai, where some residents have been confined to their homes for over 30 days.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The hesitant v the urgent”
Finance & economics April 23rd 2022
- After getting inflation so wrong, can the Fed now get it right?
- China’s two-front fight to quash the virus and revive its economy
- What an end to quantitative easing means for Italian debt
- New research spells out the benefits of diverse supply chains
- A surprise sacking at China Merchants Bank frightens investors
- All over the rich world, new businesses are springing to life
- A requiem for negative government-bond yields
- Does high inflation matter?
More from Finance & economics
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_FNP501.jpg)
Can anything spark Europe’s economy back to life?
Mario Draghi, the continent’s unofficial chief technocrat, has a plan
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_FND003.jpg)
Has social media broken the stockmarket?
That is the contention of Cliff Asness, one of the great quant investors
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_FNP504.jpg)
American office delinquencies are shooting up
How worried should investors be?
China is suffering from a crisis of confidence
Can anything perk up its economy?
America has a huge deficit. Which candidate would make it worse?
Enough policies have been proposed to make a call
Why Oasis fans should welcome price-gouging
There are worse things in life than paying a fair price